


Heaven’s Merry Masquerade

by Toomanyfandoms99



Series: Adventures of Gabriel [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bobby Singer's House, Drama, Heaven, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:55:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21632542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toomanyfandoms99/pseuds/Toomanyfandoms99
Summary: “Well,” a smile stood out amongst the heavy wrinkles on Balthazar’s face, “nap time is over.  Cassie found Samandriel.”Gabriel was suddenly very awake, eyes snapping open fully and body jolting to sit upwards.  His palms sank into the vapors of the cloud, the accumulating moisture sticking like a fog to his skin.He tipped his head up at Balthazar, cursing his little brother’s slenderness.  Excitement has his veins buzzing nonetheless.  “How?!”
Relationships: Castiel & Gabriel, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Gabriel/Sam Winchester
Series: Adventures of Gabriel [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1525019
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	Heaven’s Merry Masquerade

The fluffy mass of vapors that Gabriel was currently using as a bed was shaken by approaching footsteps.

He opened one eye, disturbed from his nap. The eye trained on the arrival of a tall shadow, a celestial being with tawny wings and an ashen aura.

Gabriel opened both eyes and squinted, Balthazar’s face coming into focus. Balthazar’s voice was especially Scottish as he asked, “what are you doing?”

Gabriel scoffed. “Trying to get some rest. Obviously.”

“Well,” a smile stood out amongst the heavy wrinkles on Balthazar’s face, “nap time is over. Cassie found Samandriel.”

Gabriel was suddenly very awake, eyes snapping open fully and body jolting to sit upwards. His palms sank into the vapors of the cloud, the accumulating moisture sticking like a fog to his skin.

He tipped his head up at Balthazar, cursing his little brother’s slenderness. Excitement has his veins buzzing nonetheless. “How?!”

Balthazar offered a hand, and Gabriel used it to stand. He used his powers to levitate atop the cloud, boots sinking into the fluffy buoy. He let go of the hand and straightened his posture.

Balthazar replied, “Samandriel has been hiding in Heaven all this time.”

Gabriel bristled, gaze widening. “What?! How did I not find him?!”

“He was posing as a man who is actually in Hell, currently suffering in the sixth ring of Dante’s Inferno.”

“Those who committed heresy,” Gabriel recalled. A laugh bubbled from his throat and fell out of his mouth. “Hilarious. I missed him so much.”

“He took advantage of an error in Heaven’s documentation,” Balthazar explained. “Apparently, this man made a deal with Lucifer before he died to buy his way into Heaven.”

“So two slots for the same guy,” Gabriel confirmed to himself. “An error like that happens once in a millennia. How interesting. How did Cassie discover it was him?”

“Accidentally,” Balthazar replied amusedly. “Now are you ready to see him or not?”

Gabriel grinned dazedly, and he followed Balthazar as he flew to a secluded area of Heaven.

In fact, it was the area of Heaven designated for the Winchesters when they died.

It was based upon Bobby’s land, the junkyard and garage and house that Sam and Dean called home in their childhood. Gabriel had never seen the actual place, but Castiel took painstaking care to ensure it was an accurate picture. Castiel imagined Sam would sequester himself in the house’s extensive library, while Dean spent his days in the junkyard fixing cars.

With the topic of the Winchesters’ imminent deaths always on their minds, their Heaven has been waiting for them for several years. To Gabriel’s knowledge, Sam and Dean didn’t know or suspect a thing.

Balthazar’s wings swept them over the junkyard, Gabriel following easily, enjoying the opportunity to stretch his own wings.

They were transported inside the house with a short beat of their wings, time and space folding in on itself so they could teleport.

They landed on their feet in the living space, Gabriel absorbing the room for the first time. Nearly every wall was adorned with a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, the entire house essentially a gigantic library. 

The perfect space for his boyfriend when he passed away.

The wooden furniture and comfortable couch, however, spoke of a well-worn living room. A place that was homey and rustic. A place where Sam studied for his college admissions exam in secret. A place where Sam spent hours combing through lore with Bobby. A place where Sam prepared for multiple apocalypses. A place where he loved and lost and found.

And in the midst of this space was Castiel and Samandriel, who rose from the couch.

Samandriel’s grin nearly blinded Gabriel. “Hey guys!”

Gabriel held out his arms with a smile, his most jovial little brother entering his hug. Samandriel held onto him tightly, chuckling into his shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re not mad,” Samandriel mumbled to Gabriel.

Gabriel pulled back, observing Samandriel’s vessel: smooth light skin, a baby face, and bright blue eyes. Exactly what he deserved, and what he looked like on the inside.

“Why would I be mad?” Gabriel allowed his eyes to brighten and his smile to widen. “What you did was ingenious!”

“You think so?” Samandriel asked hopefully. 

“I’m the last person who would be mad at you,” Gabriel said breezily. “If anyone’s mad here, it’s Cassie.”

Castiel arched an eyebrow at being mentioned, three pairs of eyes swiveling over to him. Samandriel stepped away from Gabriel, his expression becoming sheepish.

“I’m just disgruntled,” Castiel grumbled. “I wish we found you sooner.”

Gabriel and Balthazar matched Castiel’s frown. 

Samandriel studied each of them in turn. “It’s fine. I didn’t want to be found, anyway. Not until the danger was gone.”

“The danger is never gone,” Gabriel said. “We need as much help as we can get.”

“For what?”

Instead of Gabriel answering, he stared pointedly at Castiel.

Castiel offered, “we’re an endangered species.”

Samandriel looked at all three angels, and they watched the cobweb gears in his mind turn. He studied the seriousness in their respective expressions. Castiel’s was weary, Balthazar’s was matter-of-fact, and Gabriel’s was defeated.

“You can’t,” Samandriel half-smiled, “you can’t be serious.” He huffed out a weak laugh. “There are thousands upon thousands of us. Castiel leads his own garrison of angels. I’m a part of it, and so is Balthazar. Stop messing with me.”

Gabriel found Samandriel’s reaction to be more tragic than anything Shakespeare had ever composed in his lifetime.

“Saman,” Gabriel murmured, “it’s true.”

Samandriel scoffed. “Please. There’s no way we killed each other to the brink of extinction. We’re not that stupid.”

Gabriel snickered despite the tension. “We kinda are, actually.”

There was a long moment of silence. Balthazar and Castiel did not speak or move the slightest bit. Gabriel watched Samandriel’s smile fall, the situation dawning on him slowly. He could watch all the stages of grief play about Samandriel’s eyes, which went from ocean blue to ashen coal.

Samandriel ducked his head down. His gaze was far away as he stared at a spot on the wall. The paint was flecking in random areas and along the edges. Gabriel figured that must be by design, which was to Castiel’s credit.

Samandriel looked at Gabriel abruptly, moisture in his puppy dog eyes. He was reminded so much of Sam that he frowned deeper.

“Did we really kill each other?” He asked softly.

Gabriel nodded. “I wasn’t here for it, but Cassie is right. I’ve scoped out Heaven myself. We can barely keep the lights on.”

Samandriel was visibly disturbed. “If there was any light expected never to go out, it was this light. My God.”

“Taking the Lord’s name in vain?” Balthazar asked amusedly, clucking his tongue. It was followed by a smile as he said, “good on you, Saman.”

“I can’t believe He hasn’t come back,” Samandriel said, shaking his head. He was having the very same crisis Castiel had years ago before their eyes. That questioning of God. That need for him to appear to save them.

It was quickly followed by the truth of the matter: God wasn’t their savior this time.

It was Castiel who spoke to Samandriel in a lower register. “I understand what you’re going through. Take your time with it.”

Samandriel inhaled deeply and exhaled through his mouth. “Okay. We’re on our own, then. That’s why you were looking for me.”

“Anyone else you know about that’s hiding?” Balthazar inquired.

Samandriel chewed his bottom lip while he thought. Gabriel really hoped he could remember something helpful. It wouldn’t surprise him if other angels took advantage of the same documentational error that Samandriel exploited to mask his presence from possible enemies.

Samandriel finally released his lip and replied, “I have some ideas as to where other angels might be hiding, if there are any besides me.”

Balthazar beamed. “Well then...that’s the best news we’ve heard in a long time.”

Gabriel heartily agreed, clapping his hands together gleefully. “Tell us everything you know.”

————

Gabriel scanned through the endless lists of Heaven’s occupants. Books were scattered about the bright white room. All four angels were in various states of tiredness as they read for inconsistencies. Even with their powers to help read faster, the process of going through an eternity of deaths was time-consuming. 

Balthazar was laying on the hard floor, holding the books up as he went through pages. Samandriel crisscrossed on the dull gray rug, the books perched near his shoes as he rifled through them. Castiel was laying on the couch, the books resting on his chest while he flipped pages lazily.

And Gabriel was curled up in a lounge chair, using his pulled-up legs as a perch for each book, scanning pages listlessly.

A voice pierced through the echo chamber of silence. Samandriel’s voice, to be exact.

“Is Homer supposed to be here?” He asked warily.

Gabriel blinked away the blurriness to his eyes. His mind churned for the first time in hours. Once he recalled the layout of Hell, his breath caught in his throat.

“No,” he exhaled, his eyes widening.

The negative had all heads snapping in Gabriel’s direction. As if coming back to life with the wave of a magic wand, all heads then turned towards Samandriel in varying degrees of awe and amazement.

Books were set down with clumsy and loud smacks against furniture and floor tiles. Shoes squeaked on the floor as they moved in tandem, crouching around Samandriel and the book. Gabriel to Samandriel’s right, Castiel to his left, and Balthazar peeking from behind him.

Five handwritten letters never made Gabriel so elated before.

“Homer is in the first circle of Hell for being a virtuous pagan,” Gabriel recalled incredulously. “Who do you think is doing this one?”

“Let’s find out,” a glint was in Balthazar’s eyes, “shall we?”

————

“Let go of me, Gabriel! By the grace of God!”

Gabriel snorted as he dragged Joshua in handcuffs to the Garden of Eden. Balthazar helped fly Joshua back over to his true home. Joshua struggled the entire quick flight, but Gabriel used brute force to overpower his advances.

Castiel and Samandriel watched warily from the sidelines as Gabriel and Balthazar manhandled Joshua.

“By the grace of what God?” Gabriel scoffed, halting Joshua near the shrubbery that indicated the archway where angels entered the Garden of Eden.

The question stilled Joshua’s movements entirely. Gabriel’s grip on the handcuffs slackened, but Balthazar moved to take his place. Gabriel stepped back from Joshua as he drank in the weary and world-worn faces of all four angels.

“Is He still gone?” Joshua asked confusedly, not seeming in the least bit concerned.

Samandriel huffed out a harsh laugh. Gabriel was shocked to see his happiest brother so cynical; he hoped that would change, and he would be back to his old sunshine self soon.

“He’s never coming back,” Samandriel said, “so you better get used to that.”

“What Saman means is,” Balthazar said, “we’re done for, Josh.”

“Impossible,” Joshua snorted.

Due to Samandriel’s reaction earlier, Gabriel had flown to Heaven’s headquarters, an office building where the lights flickered, and brought back a souvenir.

Gabriel untucked the stick of light from the back of his pants, holding up a flickering cylinder. It once held enough power to burn a human’s eyeballs. It once held enough power to replace the Earth’s sun. It once held enough power to save the entire world and provide electricity forever.

Now, it was nothing but a flickering bulb that threatened to die out at any moment.

Joshua’s reaction was glorious. Gabriel watched all the stages play across his eyes: disbelief, denial, incredulousness, shock, acceptance, and fear.

So much fear.

Joshua opened his mouth, but could not speak.

“Yeah,” Gabriel’s voice cut through the silence, “that’s what we’re dealing with. It’s up to you to guard the gates.” He left no room for negotiation as he said authoritatively, “do you understand me?”

Joshua fell to his knees, and Balthazar allowed it by retracting his grip on the handcuffs. 

Joshua looked up at Gabriel as if he were the new savior. The thought made Gabriel vaguely sick, and the weight of his station smacked him across the face far too late.

“Yes,” Joshua replied, “I understand, Mighty One.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated!


End file.
